Adriandavies

I don't want to take the thread any further away than it has gone already but please get your facts right. The Police originally said that he ran - it turns out he was walking. They said he jumped over the entry barrier - he didn't. They said that he was wearing a bulky jacket which could conceal a bomb - he was not. They also said that he was an illegal immigrant - again he wasn't. He was here on a working visa. All of this info has been common knowledge for the last six months. Back to the thread. So far the threat appears to be credible and if so the Police action has stopped up to 10 planes from being blown up and thousands of lives being saved. However since 2001 over 1000 people here have been arrested for various terrorist offences yet only about 20 have actually been charged with anything so far. I hope this time the Police have genuinely got the reaction right.

I'm married to an Iranian and visit the country every other year. I also know loads of Iranians over here, many of whom own restaurants. Most Iranians will carry on using whatever words they want so I don't think the president has much chance of changing their habits! If he does try he should remember what happened to King Canute.

The Iranians make some of the worst pizzas in the world. The dough is horrible and they just don't have the right sort of cheese! Iranians in the UK who make pizzas on the other hand do a pretty good job so it must be down to access to good ingredients.

No gambling was involved but a couple of years ago a programme in the UK was called 'Drop the Celebrity' It involved 6 b and c list celebs being asked questions with the loser of each round doing a tandem back to the ground. They used a Hercules and built a temporary TV studio in it. It sucked although on th ebright side one celeb who couldn't follow instructions (she didn't lift her legs up on landing) broke her ankle on landing!

See you there!

uh...what ya gonna set up over here?

mmmmmm.......I used three DZ's in three countries along with three licencing systems before getting my A. I started in Australia on holiday, then went to Portgual (a USPA DZ) before finishing in the UK under the auspices of the BPA. All the DZO's were helpful to me in different ways.

'It is highly probable...appeared to chronicle ...describes a meeting with an unidentified Iraqi official referred to as “M.O.M.,” who possibly is Tahir Jalil Habbush al Tikriti,...Probably M.O.M.' Oh yes this is absolute proof isn't it! It is full of probable, maybe, and references to unidentified 3 parties. I have a genuine question though and that is surely three years after the overthrow of Saddam, the capture of many of his top officials and pretty much unfeterred access to the Iraqi government archives, wouldn't you think that the US would be able to find something a bit more definitive than this?

The law of unintended consequences: America helps depose the democratic elected government of Iran, leading to the Shah taking power and becoming a western stooge (serving UK and US interests in the oil industry), before being overthrown by an anti US theocracy! Who would have thought that US meddling could have worked out so badly....?

Nobody has mentioned Chris Gauge's name yet. Although he died before I started skydiving he apparently was a top bloke and a talented skysurfer as well.

My brother in law was a conscript in the Iranian army for 18 months. Judging from his experience and treatment most of the Iranian armed forces are probably trained to be no more than cannon fodder. Pretty much everyone is his company was ill during basic training due to also only given one uniform, then he spent the balance of his time guarding a museum! I assume that the guys in the regular forces are probably trained and equipped to a higher standard than the conscripts, but it is conscripts which make up the majority of the army. Judging from most of the pictures on the website mentioned above their military hardware is a mish mash of original gear bought in the 70's or copies of stuff which dates back to the 60's and 70's. Maybe numbers would tell but I would put my money on US equipment being superior and more effective in most situations if push comes to shove.

Whatever the politics of it are I think that it is pretty obscene that someone can spend £7000 in such a short period or £250 a day on a hair dresser.

..and Paulipod has said the same thing.

I'm working as well although it is quite quiet here at the moment.

Yep...I can't remember exact figures but in the UK I think about 90% of the cost of a gallon of fuel goes straight to the Government in tax. BTW aviation fuel here isn't taxed as highly as automobile fuel but jump tickets are still generally about £20 or US$34 to 14,000.

Its gone from 5m at the start of the thread to 12m by the time I found that story on the internet.

BEIJING, Jan.19 -- China's first theme museum, on the course of development of nuclear technology, will be set up in Mianyang City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to a China News Service report on Monday. The museum, which is now under construction, is expected to open in April. With a total investment of 250 million yuan (US$31 million), the museum will be divided into four big exhibition sections, namely nuclear technology, wind tunnel technology, computer science, and Changhong vision technology. As the core of the museum, the nuclear technology section will be subdivided into five parts, namely "atom and nucleon", "tremendous nuclear power", "application of nuclear power", "peaceful utilization of nuclear technology", and "interactive demonstration programs". Each part focuses on popularizing nuclear knowledge and peaceful utilization of nuclear power and technology. In addition, the exhibits will also showcase the people and touching stories behind the "two bombs and one satellite" program. The program describes the detonation of China's first atom bomb in 1964, which was followed by the successful launch of a missile in 1966 and explosion of a H-bomb in 1967. The launch of China's first satellite "Dong Fang Hong" in 1970 was a declaration to the world that China had mastered satellite technology. The 30-meter-high entertainment wind tunnel with a diameter of 12 meters, the first of its kind, will enable three to five visitors to "fly" at the same time to experience space travel. Besides, China's first series of computers -- Yinhe I, Yinhe II and Digistar3 Theater -- will also be on display. Mianyang City boasts many national-level science and technology institutes including the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics, which conducted much of the research for the "two bombs one satellite" program, and China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center, counting many famous Chinese scientists including Deng Jiaxian, also known as the father of China's atom bomb, as previous in-house researchers. (Source: China.org.cn)

Its not from Hitchikers Guide its from a Terry Pratchett book called 'Bad Omens'.

20 minutes doing 4 way at Bodyflight last night

I think they have called it a Mini Boogie although I don't know if they are organising anything special but they will be flying both Caravans.

Up until the 90's most of the athletes from the Soviet Union were military, and as the Chinese have adopted that model it would not surprise me if they used this tunnel to turn out FS teams. Haven't the Chinese started to make inroads into skydiving as they have already started to win medals at the world championships in accuracy events?

Try calling the guys at British Parachute Schools at Langar as A) they are used to helping film for TV programmes, and B) some of their student rigs are red.

Dude next you'll be saying that disco is dead and leading a campaign to smash disco music 45's.

My spotting lessons were conducted in a Grand Caravan. At the time no carpet had been laid so the cabin floor was quite slippery so the main thing on my mind as I stuck my head out the door was that 'I hope I don't slip and fall out!'

All milk is organic. Fucking hippie. Milk...Organic! Not with all the drugs farmers put in cows to keep them healthy, plus the chemicals on/in the grass they eat. Some milk is genuinely organic where it is taken from cows which aren't kept full of anitbiotics.